Rainbow Chard Au Gratin Food

SWISS CHARD AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Arrange the rack in the middle of oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
• Stem the chard, keeping the leaves whole. Salt the boiling water and add the chard and let wilt. The pot will be packed at first. Boil the chard 10 minutes, drain in a colander and run under cool water. Let it drain and squeeze out any excess liquid in a clean kitchen towel. Chop.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, and then whisk in the milk. Season with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Stir in the roasted garlic paste. Thicken the sauce to coat the back of a spoon and adjust seasonings to taste.
• Layer half the greens in a medium casserole (8 to 10 inches long). Top with half the bechamel sauce and half the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Bake until bubbly and brown, 20 to 30.

SWISS CHARD AU GRATIN FRENCH BREAD PIZZAS

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the stems from the chard but keep the leaves whole. Add the chard to the boiling water (the pot will be packed at first) and cook for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cool water. Drain again, then wrap the chard in a kitchen towel and squeeze to remove the excess water. Chop the chard.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Stir in 1/3 cup Roasted Garlic Paste.
• Spread half the chard in the bottom of a medium casserole dish. Top with half the garlic sauce and half the cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and turn on the broiler.
• Halve the bread lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise to make four 12-inch-long pieces. Broil the bread, cut-side up, until charred, about 1 minute. Slather with the remaining Roasted Garlic Paste and top each piece with one-quarter of the chard au gratin. Cut each pizza in half and serve.
• The unbaked chard au gratin can covered be and refrigerated for a make-ahead meal. Bring to room temperature, then bake as directed.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange the garlic in a cluster on a large piece of foil and drizzle with 1/4 cup EVOO. Wrap up the garlic in the foil to make a tightly sealed pouch. Roast until very tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic from the skins into a food processor. Add the remaining 3/4 cup EVOO and the honey and season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a small container. (Alternatively, you can mash the garlic paste with a fork instead of using a food processor.)

RAINBOW CHARD AU GRATIN

Steps:

• 1. Stem the chard, keeping the leaves whole. Add the chard to a large pot of salted boiling water and let the chard wilt. Boil the chard for 10 minutes; drain in a colander under cool water. Let drain and squeeze excess liquid in a clean towel. Chop.
• 2. Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, and then whisk in the milk. Season with salt, pepper, and a dash of freshly grated nutmeg. Stir in the roasted garlic paste. Thicken the sauce to coat the back of a spoon and adjust seasonings to taste.
• 3. Layer half the greens in a medium casserole dish. Top with half the sauce and half the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven on center rack for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.
• 4. HOW TO MAKE GARLIC PASTE: Remove the skin from garlic bulbs and wash then thoroughly. Put them in a blender with just a little water. Blend on low speed until paste is formed. Remove from blender and use in recipe.

RAINBOW CHARD & SHALLOT GRATIN

Steps:

• Chop the greens. Trim most of the stem off the chard and chop the leaves and stems. The greens are the star of the dish, but the stems add a burst of color.
• Blanch the greens. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch rainbow chard in batches, cooking until wilted - about 1 minute. Transfer to an ice bath immediately. Continue until all the rainbow chard is blanched. Following the ice bath, squeeze the chard thoroughly in a kitchen towel.
• Sauté the vegetables. In a deep-sided saute pan, heat the olive oil on medium-low heat, add the shallots and season with about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook while occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula so the shallots do not burn, about 2 minutes. Add in the garlic, cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat, stir in the rainbow chard and then transfer the vegetables to a side dish while you prepare the sauce. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish and preheat the oven to 425F.
• Make the sauce. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour to form the roux. The texture will be like a thick paste. Gradually pour in 1/3 of the milk, whisking constantly to remove any clumps while the mixture thickens. Repeat a second and third time until all the milk is incorporated and the sauce is smooth. Continue whisking until sauce begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook about 15 minutes, occasionally stirring. The sauce should be thick and creamy, any flour taste should cook-off at this point.
• Make the gratin. Whisk in the parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup gruyere cheese, and nutmeg. Combine the sauce with the chard and shallots, season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the rainbow chard and shallot mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining gruyere cheese.
• Bake. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling and the top is golden brown. Let the dish rest about 8 to 10 minutes before serving to allow the creamy sauce to set.

SWISS CHARD AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375⁰f (190⁰c). Coat a small baking dish well with non-stick spray or cooking oil.
• Prepare your Béchamel Sauce; in a small pot met your butter over medium heat. When the butter is hot and bubbling, add all of your flour and whisk immediately to combine over medium heat, to make a roux.
• Cook your roux - stirring constantly so it doesn't burn - until it starts to smell like cookies. Now add your cold milk, all at once, and whisk well to combine and remove any remove lumps. Reduce your temperature to medium-low and season to taste with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Whisk as it simmers to thicken. A perfect Béchamel will coat a spoon well, and if you run your finger through the sauce on the spoon and turn the spoon sideways, the sauce will not run. Once complete, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Add approximately two inches of water and a teaspoon of salt to the bottom of a large pot and place it over high heat to come to a boil while you chop your swiss chard. Chop stalks a leaves in about two inch pieces, separating the tougher stalks from the tender leaves. Once water is at a boil, complexly turn off the heat but leave the pot on the element. Now add just the chard stalks to the water and cover with a tight fitting lid. Allow to steam for around 2 - 3 minutes. Now quickly add your swiss card leaves and put the lid back on for another 2 minutes. Remove the lid and turn the chard so that all of the leaves are well wilted, then immediately drain in a colander. Run steamed chard under cold water to cool as quickly as possible.
• This is the critical step in the recipe; while still in the colander press to remove any excess liquid. Then move the wilted, cool chard to the prepared baking dish and press it again. Now hold your hand over the chard and drain of all liquid again. Pour your béchamel over the chard until it's just covered. If you prefer a looser sauce, drizzle in two table spoons of heavy cream (optional, see notes).
• Top with grated Comté cheese and bake at 375⁰f (190⁰c) for approximately 30 minutes, until the swiss chard is heated all the way through, and the sauce and the cheese are bubbling through the top. Serve immediately.

SWISS CHARD GRATIN

Steps:

• To pickle the chard, put 400ml water in a large saucepan or sauté pan with the star anise, sugar and vinegar. Put the remaining spices in a cloth bag tied with string, add to the pan, bring to the boil, then drop in the chard, stalk first. Press the chard down in the pan and simmer for 3-4 mins - don't worry if you can't cover the leaves completely in the liquid, as they will wilt and become submerged while cooking. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Once cooled, remove the chard from the pickle mix and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Lay the chard in an A4-sized baking dish. In a bowl, whisk the cream and garlic together with some seasoning, then pour over the chard. Sprinkle over the cheese and cayenne pepper, and bake for 30 mins.

CHEESY CHARD GRATIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Strip the chard leaves from the stalks, then cut the stalks into sticks. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the stalks for 3-4 mins until starting to soften. Then throw in the leaves for a few moments too so that they just wilt. Drain well.
• Mix the cream with the mustard, then toss through the chard with most of the gruyère. Grease a medium gratin dish, spread the chard mix over, then scatter with the remaining gruyère and the parmesan. Bake for 30 mins until bubbling and golden. Serve straight from the dish.

SWISS CHARD AND LEEK GRATIN

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the chard until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain the chard, squeeze it dry, and chop. Be sure to remove any excess moisture.
• Heat the oil in the pot. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring, until tender, 7 minutes. You know your stove -- if it cooks hot make it medium low, if it cooks low, make it medium. Uncover, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant. (about 2 minutes). Add the chard, season with salt to taste and remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter or grease a 2 qt casserole dish.
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour over moderate heat to form a paste. Gradually whisk 1/3 of the milk and cook, whisking, until the mixture starts to thicken. Repeat two more times with the remaining milk.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking often, until thickened and no floury taste remains, about 10-15 minutes. Whisk in the cheeses and the nutmeg. season with salt and pepper.
• Combine the sauce and leeks/chard mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving to prevent burning your mouth.